Sheet metal joint



y 1934- R. B. BRANDL 1,957,933

SHEET METAL JOINT Filed May 31. 1930 F 1 I I 70 23841; awwnfoz Patented May 8, 1934 PATENT OFFICE SHEET METAL JOINT Robert B. Brandl, St. Paul, Minn; Lillian Brandl executrix of the estate of said Robert B.

Brandl, deceased Application May 31, 1930, Serial No. 457,799

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a joint for connecting sheet metal panels or sections and is particularly, although not exclusively, designed for use in the construction of metal buildings in which the joints extend vertically or at an incline. It is common practice to join sheet metal panels by overlapping their margins and connecting the margins by bolts inserted through registering perforations. As it is seldom possible to determine in advance the exact location of the marginal perforations to insure their registration with each other, this old practice has resulted in the consumption of much time in forcibly bringing the panels to such position that their marginal perforations register for the bolts.

It is my object to eliminate this difficulty and at the same time to provide a strong joint adapted to be rapidly put together in a building.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a fragmentary, perspective view of my improved joint, particularly showing the inner surface of the same; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the flanged, longitudinal bars for the joint; Fig. 3 is a typical transverse section through the joint and Fig. 4 is an elevation on a small scale of one of the .types of buildings in which my improved joint may be employed.

As shown in Fig. 4, I prefer to use my improved joint to connect vertically extendingpanels 5, or to connect the segments 6 of a conical roof where the structure is exposed to the weather. Marginal portions 7 of the panels 5 are reinforced by folding the metal back upon itself and thus producing margins of double the normal thickness of the sheet. These reinforced margins are formed with outwardly bent flanges 8 adapted to engage inwardly bent flanges 9 formed along the lateral edges of a bar 10. This bar extends longitudinally of the joint and is constructed frbm relatively heavy gauge metal. An inwardly extending, longitudinal channel 11 is formed centrally along the bar 10 to receive and prevent rotation of the heads 12 of the bolts 13. The

bolts 13 are inserted in perforations 14 which are spaced at suitable intervals along the channel 11.

For each bolt 13 a clamp member 15 is provided. Laterally projecting wings 16 integral with this clamp member are adapted to engage the inner surface of the sheet member 5. The clamp member and wings are constructed from a rigid bar of heavy gauge metal and a central perforation is provided to receive the bolt 13. Adjacent to the perforation for the bolt 13 the member 15 is .5 ofiset outward and the extremities 17 of the wings 16 are also bent outward to engage the sheet members 5 beyond the folded margins 7. Each wing 16 has a tooth 18 projecting from its outer surface to engage the margin 7 in a depression 19 (Fig. 3). Each tooth 18 interlocks with a depression 19 to positively retain a panel 5 between an extremity 17 of a clamp 15 and'the point of gripping between the double margin '7 and flange 9. A nut 20 is arranged to be turned on the bolt 13 to grip the margins '7 between the clamp member 15 and flanges 9 on the bar 10.

A washer 21, preferably constructed from a soft metal such as lead, may be placed between the head 12 of the bolt and channel 11 if a watertight joint is desired. The depressions 19 may be formed in the margins 7 by merely tightening the nut 20 on the bolt 13 where the sheet members 5 are sufiiciently flexible. However, where the heavier gauge, metal sheets are to be connected these depressions 19 may be rolled into the margins 7 during the manufacture of the panels. In order to avoid placing the clamp members 15 accurately relative to the depressions 19, said depressions may be formed to extend, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, a substantial distance along the margins '7, or continuously along said margins.

It will now be understood that the clamp members 15 with their teeth 19 and offset extremities 17, firmly grip the margins 7 against the flanges 9 of the bar 10 and there are no overlapping, perforated portions of the sheet members 5 to be accurately placed in registry with each other. The flanges 8 are placed in engagement with the flanges 9 before the clamps 15 are secured in place. In the case of the final joint which completes a cylindrical building, it is sometimes necessary to slide the bar 10 longitudinally of the margins 17 into engagement with the flanges 8. As soon as the bar 10 has been placed in engagement with a pair of the flanges 8 the clamps 15 may be applied and secured in place by the use of the bolts 13. Finally the nuts 30 are tightened to forcibly press the teeth 18 into engagement with the depressions 19 and thereby positively 10o retain the panels 5 against withdrawal laterally of the flanges 8 and 9. Thus the buildings or other structures may be assembled, in situ, by the use of my improved joints with great rapidity, the separate parts being shipped from the manufacturer in compact form. My device affords a durable, strong connection between the sheet metal panels. It also presents a neat, workman-like appearance both from the interior and exterior of the structure, and the device has 1 0 the further advantage of preventing the removal of the bolts from the exterior of the joint where the square heads of the bolts are locked against rotation in the channels 11.

The terms outwardly and inwardly, and inner and outer" as employed in the foregoing specification and in the following claims are not intended in any way to limit the application of the device to a particular type of structure, but such terms are employed for clearness and convenience of reference only.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a metal joint, the combination with sheet members having imperforate edges to be connected together and outwardly bent flanges extending along said edges, of a relatively rigid bar extending longitudinally of the joint and formed with a pairof inwardly extending flanges to engage the flanges on said sheet members, said bar having a perforation to receive a clamping bolt, a clamp member formed with a central bolt opening and laterally projecting wings to engage the inner surfaces of the margins of said sheet members, an outwardly projecting tooth on each wing to engage in a depression in the margin of each sheet member and a bolt in said perforation and opening to grip the margins of said sheet members between said wings and said flanges on said bar.

2. In a metal joint, the combination with sheet members having relatively thick, imperforate margins to be connected together and outwardly bent flanges extending along said margins, the inner surfaces of said margins having depressions therein, of a relatively rigid bar extending longitudinally of the joint and formed with a central,

longitudinal channel for a bolt head or the like and a pair of inwardly extending flanges to engage the flanges on said sheet members, said bar having a perforation in said channel to receive a clamping bolt, a clamp member formed with a central perforation for said bolt and laterally projecting wings to engage the margins of said sheet members, a tooth projecting outward on each wing to engage in said depressions and a bolt in said perforations to grip the margins of said sheet members between said wings and flanges on said bar.

3. In a metal jointthe combination with sheet members to be connected together, each of said members having an obliquely and outwardly bent flange extending along its free edge, said edges being spaced apart, a relatively thick, rigid bar extending longitudinally of the joint upon the exterior thereof, said bar closing the space between said edges and extending continuously along the joint and being formed with a longitudinal channel to receive and confine against turning the heads of bolts, flanges extending obliquely inward along the side edges of said bar to engage and conform to the flanges on said sheet members, said bar having a series of perforations in said channel to receive clamping bolts, a plurality of relatively short clamp members extending transverse said bar and engaging the inner surfaces of said sheet members, said clamp members being perforated for bolts and clamping bolts connecting said clamp members to said bar to grip the margins of said sheet members between said clamp members and said flanges on said bar.

ROBERT B. BRANDL. 

